AN INTERVIEW WITH JOE COSENTINO, AUTHOR OF
THE PERFECT GIFT,
(Bobby and Paolo Holiday
Stories, Book 2)
PUBLISHED BY DREAMSPINNER PRESS
- When did you start writing?
My
first recollection of storytelling is when my older sister and cousin
wrapped a sheet around me in my cousin’s garage, placed me in a
garbage can full of yellow paper strips, and we performed a Nativity
scene for unsuspecting family members and friends. When I realized
that I was the star, the theatre bug bit me. That led to full
theatrical musical productions in a neighbor’s garage. To this day
when I enter a garage, I start singing and dancing. Ultimately, I
majored in theatre at college, and became a professional actor,
working in film, television, and theatre opposite stars like Rosie
O’Donnell (AT&T industrial), Nathan Lane (Roar
of the Greasepaint
onstage), Bruce Willis (A
Midsummer Night’s Dream
onstage), Charles Keating (NBC’s Another
World),
Jason Robards (Commercial Credit computer commercial), and Holland
Taylor (ABC’s My
Mother Was Never a Kid
TV movie). Moving on to playwriting and ultimately writing novels
came next. Along the way, I received two master’s degrees and
became a college professor/department head, though like Bobby’s
mother in my short story, my mother keeps asking me when I’m going
to make as much money as my sister the accountant.
- What are the rules for writing a good romance story?
Fall
in love with your characters as they fall in love with each other. If
you do, the readers will as well. And don’t forget the setting. Let
it be as romantic as possible. Finally, a little humor and mystery
never hurt any story.
- What is your writing process?
I
generally wake up at 3am with a great idea. The next day, if I can
read the notes on my night table, I write a brief outline and
biography for each character. Next, as in my acting days, I ask
myself questions about each character and their journey. What are
they thinking and feeling? What do they want? What is standing in the
way of them getting what they want? Then I get them talking to one
another and the magic happens. My spouse reads my second draft and
gives me some feedback. After we argue, my third draft goes to the
publisher.
- We are here today to talk about your holiday novella, The Perfect Gift, Bobby and Paolo Holiday Stories Book 2, published by Dreamspinner Press. Tell us about the story and setting, and how you came up with them.
Dreamspinner
Press published A Home for the
Holidays, Bobby and Paolo
Holiday Stories Book 1, my short novella loosely based on my trip to
the magical and gorgeous island of Capri. Bobby, a young, Italian
American law student traveling to Capri during the winter holidays to
meet his quaint Italian relatives, falls in love with his handsome,
muscular, sexy Italian distant cousin, Paolo. Since I come from a
long line of funny Italian Americans, I included a good deal of humor
in the story as well with Paolo’s eccentric family. Readers,
reviewers, and listeners to the audiobook performed by the spicy Joel
Leslie called it the perfect holiday gift, feeling as if they had
taken a trip to Capri for the romance of a lifetime. Since A
Home for the Holidays leaves
open the future of Bobby’s and Paolo’s relationship; Joel,
readers, reviewers, and some Dreamspinner Press staff asked me why I
hadn’t written a sequel. When I couldn’t come up with a reason, I
got to work.
In
The Perfect Gift,
Bobby and Paolo Holiday Stories Book 2, Bobby (a junior lawyer) and
Paolo (a junior fashion designer) have lived together in their quaint
Victorian-era apartment for a year. Bobby wants marriage, but Paolo
is hesitant. After enjoying the winter holiday attractions of Philly,
Paolo proposes and Bobby is ecstatic. Bobby isn’t the only one who
is excited. His mother and sister begin planning “Operation Bobby
and Paolo,” a wedding that would make the royal family jealous.
Bobby’s best friend and the pastor of their open and affirming
church join in the wedding hysteria. The problem is that Bobby and
Paolo have their hearts set on a small, intimate wedding. After some
comical and heart-wrenching story twists and turns, Bobby and Paolo
come up with the perfect solution and become “December Grooms.”
The
following Christmas, the couple tour many of the quaint and wonderful
holiday sites in the area featuring elaborately decorated trees and
wreathes, Dickensian villages, Victorian carolers and bell ringers,
vendors selling hot mulled cider and roasted chestnuts, and
bay-windowed shops. They exchange beautiful gifts, and enjoy spending
Christmas with Bobby’s eccentric family. However, something is
missing in their lives. There’s an emptiness and a longing neither
of them can explain. While playing department store Santa, Bobby’s
father suffers a heart attack. A man in a Santa suit, who Bobby
assumes is his father’s replacement, brings the young couple to the
hospital room of a sick little boy. Could this boy be “An
Unexpected Gift” leading to happily ever after for Bobby and Paolo?
You’ll have to read the story to find out.
- Tell us about your main characters.
Bobby
is twenty-five with long auburn hair, emerald eyes, and a swimmer’s
build. He has my sensibility and sense of humor. Like Harold in my An
Infatuation and Jonathan in my A
Shooting Star, Bobby is sweet,
sensitive, and smart. As a junior lawyer who has just passed his bar
exam, he is passionate about LGBT equality. He is also passionately
in love with his husband Paolo.
Paolo
is loosely based on my cousin’s cousin who lives in Italy. Like
Mario in An Infatuation
and David in A Shooting Star,
Paolo is handsome, muscular, and charismatic with wavy chestnut hair
and sapphire eyes. He is also a gifted junior fashion designer who is
very much in love with Bobby. In book two, Paolo has transformed from
a party boy to a committed husband.
Bobby’s
parents are loosely based on mine. They are hysterically funny, and
love their son dearly.
Geoffrey,
the sick boy who approaches Bobby and Paolo is adorable, a bit cocky,
and so in need of love. He is a combination of many neglected
children I’ve met through a friend who is a social worker.
Jared,
Bobby’s best friend and colleague, is a laugh riot, but he is quite
devoted to Bobby.
- What about The Perfect Gift makes it different from other MM holiday novellas?
Bobby and Paolo’s love for each other,
the wonderful winter holiday locations, the humor, the mystical
element in the story, a gay wedding, and the happily ever after
ending make the story a terrific read. Also, I think everyone can
relate to feeling that something is missing during the holiday
season, and hoping for that perfect holiday gift.
- Bobby and Paolo are distant cousins. Might that ruffle some feathers?
As Bobby’s mom says in the story, it is
not unusual for distant cousins to couple in Italy. Actually, this
was the case with my great uncle and great aunt who were married for
sixty years until their deaths. Since a year has gone by since we
last saw Bobby and Paolo, they have matured as people and as a
couple.
- Will there be a part three for Paolo and Bobby?
I’m
writing it now.
- What other books have you written?
My
Nicky and Noah comedy mystery series features Drama
Queen (Divine Magazine’s
Readers’ Choice Award for Favorite LGBT Mystery, Humorous, and
Contemporary novel of 2015), Drama
Muscle (Rainbow Award Honorable
Mention), Drama Cruise,
Drama Luau,
Drama Detective.
In each novel, dead bodies drop like hammy actors at a curtain call
as college theatre professors and lovers Nicky and Noah use their
theatre skills, including impersonating others, in hysterically funny
antics to figure out whodunit and why.
My
Jana Lane mystery series from The Wild Rose Press includes Paper
Doll, Porcelain
Doll, Satin
Doll, China
Doll, and Rag
Doll. Set in the 1980’s,
ex-child star and current comeback actress Jana Lane solves mysteries
on her movie, television, and stage sets with the help of her gay
best friend and gay agent while fundraising for her AIDS foundation.
Finally,
my Cozzi Cove beach series from NineStar Press is set in a gay resort
on the New Jersey shore owned by ex-football player, handsome Cal
Cozzi. Each novel provides an entryway into Cal’s life and the
lives of the various residents staying in Cal’s bungalows each
summer. They include Cozzi Cove:
Bouncing Back (Rainbow Award
Honorable Mention/TBR Pile Favorite Book of the Month), Cozzi
Cove: Moving Forward, Cozzi
Cove: Stepping Out, and Cozzi
Cove: New Beginnings. I love the
mystical element in each book.
- As a college professor/department head, where do you find the time to write so many books?
I
write at night after my spouse has gone to sleep and the house is
quiet. As my mother would say, I’ve always had a strong
imagination. So it’s not difficult for me to connect to my inner
muse and let the characters out. Being a bit tired helps release
my inhibitions and creativity.
Like
Bobby and Paolo in my stories, I hope everyone reading this gets just
what you need this holiday season. Enjoy my special holiday gift to
you. Please know that it comes wrapped in a huge ribbon of love. And
I love hearing from readers. You can
contact me at: http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com.
THE PERFECT GIFT (Bobby and Paolo Holiday
Stories, Book 2)
by
JOE COSENTINO
published
by Dreamspinner Press, e-book $4.99
Buy Links:
Back
in America after finding A Home
for the Holidays and each other
in Capri, new couple Bobby McGrath and Paolo Mascobello are ready to
tie the knot during the winter holidays. Their families, friends, and
pastor offer more advice than sages on speed. So, young lawyer Bobby
and fashion designer Paolo are caught in the matrimonial holiday
circus. Will a shocking turn of events somehow lead to the perfect
wedding for the December grooms?
The
following Christmas, Bobby and Paolo aren’t feeling the holiday
spirit. They have a nice apartment, designer clothes, entertaining
and supportive friends and family, but little time for each other.
While out shopping in their quaint local holiday village, Bobby and
Paolo encounter Gregory, an adorable seven-year-old who changes their
lives forever, offering them a true holiday miracle… if they’re
willing to accept it.
What
reviewers said about A Home for
the Holidays, Bobby and Paolo
Holiday Stories Book 1:
“I adore
the character of Bobby…the heartwarming family moments…the love
the author has for Capri and the people there flows off the page in
every word he has written…..When you finish reading this story, you
will want to book your own flight to Italy and boat to Capri.”
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
“Joe
Cosentino’s holiday novella, A
Home for the Holidays, delivers
in every way that a romantic, feel-good story should. Every book I
read by this author continuously pulls me in and wraps me up like a
warm blanket.” Kathy Mac Reviews
“The
one thing you can't escape when reading Cosentino's books is his
humour; it's what draws me back time and again to this author.
Sometimes the humour is subtle, sometimes it's unashamedly overt -
every time it is hilarious.”
Boy Meets Boy Reviews
I’m
going to go on record saying that Joe Cosentino pretty much has me at
hello. His writing style is incredibly smooth with beautiful details
that never feel like too much or too little. Even in this very short
story, I felt like I was right there in Capri with Bobby. Both the
scenery and Bobby’s emotions are painted with lush, vivid
detail…exceptional writing and beautifully gift-wrapped love
story.” AM Leibowitz
Bestselling
author Joe Cosentino wrote In My
Heart/An
Infatuation & A
Shooting Star, the Bobby and
Paolo Holiday stories: A Home for
the Holidays and
The Perfect Gift, The
Naked Prince and Other Tales from Fairyland
(Dreamspinner Press); the Nicky and Noah mysteries: Drama
Queen, Drama
Muscle, Drama
Cruise, (Lethe Press), Drama
Luau, Drama Detective; the Cozzi
Cove series: Cozzi Cove: Bouncing
Back, Cozzi Cove: Moving Forward, Cozzi Cove: Stepping Out, Cozzi
Cove: New Beginnings (NineStar
Press); and the Jana Lane mysteries: Paper
Doll, Porcelain
Doll, Satin Doll, China Doll, Rag Doll
(The Wild Rose Press). He has appeared in principal acting roles in
film, television, and theatre, opposite stars such as Bruce Willis,
Rosie O’Donnell, Nathan Lane, Holland Taylor, Charles Keating, and
Jason Robards. Joe is currently Head of the Department/Professor at a
college in upstate New York, and is happily married. He was voted 1st
Place Favorite LGBT Mystery, Humorous, and Contemporary Author of
2015, and 2nd
Place Favorite LGBT Romance Author of 2015 by the readers of Divine
Magazine. He has also won many Rainbow Award Honorable Mentions
including for In My Heart/An
Infatuation & A Shooting Star.
http://www.JoeCosentino.weebly.com
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/JoeCosentinoauthor
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/JoeCosen
Amazon:
Author.to/JoeCosentino
Excerpt
of The Perfect Gift
(Bobby and Paolo Holiday Stories, Book 2)
by
Joe Cosentino, published by Dreamspinner Press:
“Hi,
Mom. What are you doing?”
“Sitting
home alone like a dog.”
That’s
Mom’s logic. If their house isn’t full of people eating
and carrying on, she’s alone.
“Where’s
Dad?”
“In
his den, watching the
game on TV as usual.”
I’m
Bobby McGrath. Since this is my story, I should tell you more about
myself. I have frizzy red hair, green eyes, and a swimmer’s body,
thanks to the pool at my gym. The
swimmer’s body is thanks to the pool. The red hair and green eyes
are courtesy of my dad’s side of the family,
which my mom calls the
Bad Seed. And I passed the bar.
I don’t mean I’m a recovering alcoholic. I aced my bar
exam, and I’ve been a junior
lawyer for nearly a year now.
“Bobby,
are you listening to me or thinking about one of your cases?”
“I’m
listening, Mom.” I sat on the window seat in my Victorian
apartment’s turret and gazed out at the carolers appropriately
dressed in Victorian garb as they sang in front of the
department store across the street.
That’s the department store where my father is manager and plays
Santa every December. “How did Dad’s physical go with Dr.
Sherman?”
“He said Dad’s
overweight. Like we didn’t
know. For that we shelled out a thirty-dollar co-pay.”
“Did
you mention how Dad’s been forgetting a few things lately?”
“I
told him how your father forgot to take out the garbage, sweep out
the garage, and chase the squirrels out of our summerhouse in the
backyard.”
I
couldn’t help thinking Dad’s memory lapses were intentional.
“Dr.
Sherman asked Dad some questions, like Dad’s birthdate and our
anniversary.”
“And?”
“Your
father never remembers things like that, so I answered for him.”
“Mom,
you shouldn’t have—”
“Your
father’s fine, except for an enlarged prostrate.”
“That’s
prostate.”
“Don’t
correct your mother, especially now.”
“What’s
wrong?”
“You
know I don’t like to burden you with my problems.”
“All
right. I should get on my laptop to do some research for a—”
“I’m
worried about your sister.”
“Which
one?”
“Both
of them.”
I took a sip of Lemon
Zinger tea and braced myself for a long story.
“They
work so hard at their jobs and taking care of the kids, they never
see their husbands.”
My
sisters’ know-it-all spouses? “Is
that a bad thing?”
“Watch
your mouth, mister. I’m your mother. In my day we never
disrespected our parents, no matter how wrong they were about
everything. And we never took
drugs.”
“I
don’t take drugs, Mom; neither
does Paolo.”
“But
plenty of young people today are drug addicts, Bobby. They say
they’re nervous. If young people are nervous, they should do what I
do, and take a Prozac.”
As Mom rambled on about
the sad state of our youth, I glanced over at the antique cherry
coffee table to a framed picture of Paolo and me smiling
in front of the Mascobello villa in Capri, Italy. That’s where I
met Paolo, when I visited my extended family. Don’t freak out.
Paolo is a very
distant cousin. He has
dreamy sapphire eyes, wavy chestnut hair, more muscles than a daytime
television star, and a little-boy pout that makes me want to take
care of him for the rest of his life. Which I do. Since Paolo was
quite the playboy in Capri, I had my doubts about our relationship.
But we’ve been living in
boyfriend bliss here in Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly
Love, for a year now.
Giveaway:
Post a comment about your favorite holiday gift. The one that reaches
the star on Zipper Ripper’s Blog’s tree will be shared with the
author to win a gift audiobook of A
Home for the Holidays, Bobby and
Paolo Holiday Stories Book 1, by Joe Cosentino, performed by Joel
Leslie, published by Dreamspinner Press.
http://www.audible.com/pd/Romance/A-Home-for-the-Holidays-Audiobook/B01MQJ2OZY/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1479506188&sr=1-1
